Treasure Refining

Liu Jin closed his eyes and recalled the moment when the sect leader unfurled the scroll. The moon on the scroll emerged from the paper and transformed into a real moon hanging in the sky. It wasn't just simple energy shaping, but a solidification technique that existed between the real and the illusory, giving the illusion real attributes.

Using this as a guide, he refined the Moon Illusion Light, transforming it from a one-time attack into a palm-sized mirror framed by the Qi of Reversal. The mirror's surface was moon-white, its border outlined by a silvery-white light formed from the fire of the moon, while the back of the mirror featured dark red patterns of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. The two flames slowly merged and flowed within the mirror.

He projected a wisp of his divine sense into the mirror and gently waved it at a pine tree not far away. A squirrel happened to be jumping off a branch, and the moment it was swept by the mirror's light, the squirrel suddenly stopped in place, tilting its head to look at the branch, as if a tree full of pine cones had suddenly sprouted from that withered branch.

The illusion wasn't an attack; it was simply letting the squirrel see what it most wanted to see. He put the mirror away, the mirror light faded, and the squirrel came to its senses, only to find the withered branch was still just a withered branch. Dissatisfied, it flicked its tail and ran away.

He named this mirror "Illusion Moon Mirror," using the mirror as a medium to enter the Dao through illusion. In the future, when facing enemies with weak minds, a flash of the mirror's light can cause the opponent to fall into a brief illusion. Combined with the pursuit of the Demon-Slaying Ribbon, it is both offensive and defensive.

Now, the Demon-Slaying Ribbon, the Lunar Veil, and the Illusionary Moon Mirror—the three magical treasures—each had their uses. He was no longer a brute with nothing to his name; he had gained some spiritual foundation. He stretched, got up, and walked into the temple, intending to ask Zhao Fengnian for some food. Although he didn't need to eat, he would still enjoy the taste.

Tonight, Zhao Fengnian is making braised pork belly. The pork belly sizzles in the iron pot, glistening with oil, and the caramelized sugar from the rock sugar coats the meat, making it shiny and glossy. The aroma of star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves mingles with the fragrance of the meat, wafting from the kitchen and filling the entire Sanyi Temple with the warmth of everyday life.

Mingxin helped pick vegetables by the stove, his movements not very nimble. He had been trapped in the illusion for too many years, and the first time he picked vegetables after waking up, he broke the green beans into eight pieces, which Zhao Fengnian laughed at for a long time. Now he could at least break them neatly, although he was still slow, but his attitude was extremely serious. He would hold each green bean up to the light to check for wormholes.

When Liu Jin entered the kitchen, Zhao Fengnian was lifting the pot lid to check how the meat was stewing. Without turning his head, he said, "Brother, you've come at the right time. Try it and see if it's salty enough," and picked up a piece of lean meat with his chopsticks and handed it to Liu Jin's mouth.

Liu Jin took a bite and nodded, saying it was alright. Zhao Fengnian smugly hummed, put the meat into a large rough porcelain bowl, and then added some greens to the pot. The greens cooked quickly in the meat broth, turning bright green and glossy.

Three dishes were served on the stone table: braised pork, garlic-flavored greens, and cucumber salad, along with a bowl of white rice. Zhao Fengnian filled Mingxin's bowl to the brim with rice. Mingxin picked up the bowl, took a mouthful of rice, and suddenly stopped.

He had been trapped in the illusion for so many years without a hot meal. After waking up, he only ate dry rations and wild fruits on Mount Lao. This was the first proper meal he had in the real world. The steam from the rice warmed his face. He lowered his head and took a big bite, his cheeks bulging, and mumbled, "Delicious."

Zhao Fengnian sat down on the stone bench with his bowl in his hand, but his gaze kept drifting towards Liu Jin. He wasn't stealing glances at Liu Jin, but rather at the three magical treasures on Liu Jin's body.

The gauze robe shimmered with a faint, cold, silvery light in the twilight, as thin as a cicada's wing, its glow flickering gently with each breath.

The Demon-Slaying Ribbon was tied around the waist, with the pale golden lights of thousands of homes and the dark blue Samadhi True Fire intertwined to form a golden and blue belt. Occasionally, a few extremely fine threads of fire would rise and fall from the belt.

The Illusion Moon Mirror hung on the left side of the waist. Its moon-white surface resembled a full moon shrunk countless times in the twilight. The cold light of the moon on the frame and the dark red lotus pattern on the back of the mirror flickered alternately, as if the mirror itself was breathing gently.

Zhao Fengnian's eyes almost popped into his rice bowl as he stared at the braised pork. He even forgot to blow on it when he put it to his mouth, and had to suck in several breaths of cool air before he could swallow it.

Mingxin wasn't much better off. From the moment the Illusion Moon Mirror appeared at Liu Jin's waist, his gaze never left that palm-sized, moon-white mirror.

He cultivated illusion magic and was particularly sensitive to illusion magic artifacts. When the Illusion Moon Mirror slowly rotated at Liu Jin's waist, it emitted a very faint moon illusion aura. That aura was both familiar and unfamiliar to him. It was familiar because the core power of this mirror was the moon illusion light, which came from the same source as the power that had awakened him from the illusion.

The strangeness stemmed from the fact that the moon's illusory light was so solidified and stable within this mirror, completely unlike the uncontrollable and domineering force that Liu Jin had displayed when breaking through the illusion. He stared at the flowing moon-white light on the mirror's surface, his fingers unconsciously mimicking the energy trajectory of the Illusion Moon Mirror, drawing faint traces of illusory light on the table.

Liu Jin put down his chopsticks, glanced at the two of them, and asked, "Want to learn how to refine magic weapons?"

Mingxin snapped out of his daze and quickly shook his head, explaining that he didn't want to learn it, but rather he was learning how Liu Jin used illusion techniques. The foundation of the Moon Illusion Light was the Taiyin Fire and the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. He didn't possess either of these two fires, so even if he learned it, he couldn't forge a second Moon Illusion Mirror.

But he can learn the thought process; illusion magic doesn't necessarily have to be made into a mirror. In the future, he will use his own methods to forge a treasure that belongs to him. Liu Jin nodded, indicating that he had good comprehension.

Zhao Fengnian readily admitted that he wanted it. He analyzed Liu Jin's three magical treasures on his fingers: the Demon-Slaying Ribbon was based on the Myriad Lights and Samadhi True Fire, but he didn't have the Myriad Lights; the Taiyin Gauze Robe was formed from Taiyin Fire, but he didn't have Taiyin Fire; and the Illusion Moon Mirror was solidified from the light of the moon, but he had never even touched the light of the moon.

The more he talked, the more he felt that he was not destined to have these magical treasures. He sighed and said that he should forget it. He was still going to follow the path of physical close combat and would be using water magic in the future. These magical treasures were not very compatible with his system. He would have to wait until later to refine them himself.

He said it was fine, but his expression was like that of a child who saw others eating candy and didn't get any. He ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice in silence, then picked up a bucket, scooped half a bucket of water from the vat, and poured it onto his arm, muttering that he must forge one himself in the future.

However, he quickly recovered from his disappointment. He put his rice bowl on the stone table, placed his chopsticks across the rim, looked Liu Jin up and down, then gestured to Mingxin, pointing at Liu Jin and saying, "This is what you call the demeanor of an immortal."

My older brother was strong before, but he was strong enough to smash a mountain with one punch, strong enough to make his whole body burst into flames and flash with golden light when fighting the Black Mountain Demon, strong enough to beat his opponent head-on and leave him covered in bumps but still covered in ash.

Now that you have these three magical treasures, just by wearing them, you'll look like a true cultivator from a great sect. When the wind blows, your clothes will flutter, and when the moonlight shines on your gauze robes, they'll reflect a silvery light. If you stand on a cloud, you can instantly transform into a celestial being descended to earth.

Mingxin, unusually, agreed with him, saying seriously that Liu Jin's current state was a combination of illusion and true fire cultivation, with both offense and defense. He could conceal his aura while revealing his trump cards, possessing the ingenuity of Laoshan illusion and the domineering power of Samadhi True Fire.

Liu Jin felt somewhat helpless after being praised by the two, so he picked up his rice bowl and continued eating. Seeing that he did not refute, Zhao Fengnian became even more enthusiastic and put another piece of braised pork into his bowl, saying that in the future, when he went out to meet other cultivators, he should show off all three magic treasures, and without saying a word, the other party would be three points inferior to him.

He became more and more excited as he spoke, already designing Liu Jin's entrance sequence: first, let the Taiyin Gauze Robe flutter twice to create atmosphere; then, use the Demon-Slaying Ribbon to draw a circle in the air to clear the field; finally, let the Illusion Moon Mirror flash to clear the field and deliver a few words of ethereal elegance—perfect. Liu Jin's lips curled slightly upward, but he still didn't respond. He simply took the Taiyin Gauze Robe off his body, gave it a gentle shake, and the robe transformed into a wisp of silver-white light, disappearing into his sleeve.

Mingxin also put away his smile and said seriously that Liu Jin's state did indeed have the aura of someone who had achieved perfect cultivation, not in terms of strength, but in terms of his state of being. He had seen too many cultivators, some very strong but too sharp, some very steady but gloomy.

Liu Jin exuded a natural composure that came from having laid a solid foundation and prepared all the necessary methods. Zhao Fengnian chimed in, saying that the description was too long; simply put, he had become even more formidable.